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12th June 2024
04:58pm BST
While Steve Coogan is best recognised for the iconic Alan Partridge, there's another slightly more niche character beloved by the Irish.
Back in 2019, the comedian returned to screens with This Time with Alan Partridge, using a mock morning talk-show format.
On the show, Coogan introduced us to Martin Brennan from Sligo who is invited onto the show as an Alan Partridge impersonator.
The viral clip involves Brennan bringing out his cousins to perform a rousing rendition of 'Come Out Ye Black and Tans', much to the horror of host Partridge.
However, Coogan has revealed that he made one specific change to the character to give his Irish mother "a bit of protection."
Speaking on Dermot O'Leary on his BBC radio show, Coogan discussed the origins of his now iconic character, stemming from his time spent in his mother's home county of Mayo during his childhood.
He explained that the character is "an amalgam" of his Irish uncles.
"My mother was very worried about me doing that. She said, 'The Irish won't like you if you do that.'
"I said, 'They will, because they'll recognise it's not me saying 'Top of the morning' and almost kind of cliché-y. It's very specific."
He revealed that he was adamant that his outfit was spot on and even told the wardrobe woman that they needed to get the clothes "dead right."
He also said that one change he made to the character was making him from Sligo and not his mother's home of Mayo.
"The only slack to my mother was I made him from County Sligo, not County Mayo. Just to give her a bit of protection," he explained.
We very much appreciate the level of nuance and detail Coogan went through to give us the brilliant character and it's fair to say he absolutely knocked it out of the park.
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